The Portland daily press., 1887-11-10
THE BELcHER CASE.
What Mrs. Charlotte Craig Says Mrs
Belcher Told Her.
Dr.Cheney's Visits and MRS. BeIcher,s
Expressed Intentions.
Other Witnesses Repeat Remarks
Concerning the College.


The tsial of the Belcher will case in the
Supreme Court, before Judge Walton, was
resumed at 10 o'clock yesterday morning.
1t was admitted that the value of the
estate Of the testatrix is between fifty-one
and ifty-two thousand dollars. as appraised
in the Probate Court of Franklin county.
Mrs Charlotte Craig was the first witness
called for the contestants. She testified 81
am 81 years of age, and reside in Farming
ton, Me. have always resided in Farming
ton, until within twelve years ago four miles
from Pennington village; since that time |
have lived within two and half miles of
the village. l am in no way related to Mrs.
, Belcher, nor to the Backus heirs. | always
knew Mrs. Belcher from the time | was a
child, for the last twenty years very in
timately. On an average should say that
was at her house from three to five times
year, sometimes oftener. never was away
for year at any one time. l have remained
at her house week or fortnight at time,
ty her invitation. Sometimes / would go to
her house twice a year and remain that
length of time, and have been in the habit of
doing so for the last fifteen or twenty years,
ever since l commenced to go there fused to
call there before that time, but more fire.
quently after her son died. l did not stop
there until she was alone. Mrs Belcher was
not in the habit of going out to the neigh
bors' houses at all. do not know how long
she had been in the habit of remaining at
home, but always after commenced going
there. Il never knew of her going into but
two houses in all the time was there
Mrs. Belcher was in the habit of fire.
quently talking to me confidentially about
her matters and affairs. and about her prop
erty and relatives. | called there about two
weeks after the death of her son, Hiram
That was my first visit after his death.
was at church and at noon 1 called in to see
her and told her l had called because she
was alone. She seemed to think great deal
of that. After that time called in to see
her, and she thought a great deal of my
saying that came because she was alone, and
sald tnat she should always remember it !;
she wanted me to call often and come and
stay. did not stop there that day. | went
back to the church when the bell rang. Not
many weeks after that / went to Mrs
Belcher's again. She was alone, and she
wanted me to stop and 7 think | staid three
after her son, Hiram, died. At that time
she did not converse with me about her
| property. but she used to speak of her
relatives, because she knew that l
was acquainted with them, having been
brought up in the same neighborhood and
having been to school with her children She
| spoke OF her relatives very kindly. She did
net speak OF anyone particularly. but of her
family generally. l think it was about
| three weeks later that | was there the next
time; it was but few weeks after. | then
remained two or three days. She then spoke
about her family, and in that connection
spoke about her property. She used to talk
| with me about her relatives because was
acquainted with them, but do not remem-
Der any particular remarks that she made
about them. l remember what she said
about her property. She told me that Rev
isaac Rogers had called to see her, and had
asked her If she had made her will. She re-
piled that she had not, and he said, Il have
made my will, and have remembered my peo-
ple,the Congregational church-and you
| ought TO make yours and remember your peO-
pleIthe Free Will Baptist church. She
sad that she told him she would. Then she
SAID to me, II must make my will am a
member of the Free Will Baptist church
They have but little means, and are irving to
get along and support their church, and |
must help Them Then she said, There
d dae my Two sisters mnst give them good
1 ought to give him quite so much,
because men can get their living, and
get along better than women. Then She
said there was the generals property,
E G 7. Beicher's property, that her son
Hiram had of him, L think some of his rela-
tlyes ought to have that She said to me,
I GU are as worthy woman as any among
them, and she wanted me to have that.
asked her how much there was and she said
ten thousand dollars, That is the only
ty. Then she said, i don't think the Bap-
fist ought to have that, but my sons, Hi
rams property, he worked for; he got it by
his own hard work that is mine, and have
a right to do as am mind to with that
Then she mentioned her nephew, Nate
Frank, as she called him, and said that he
| was left all alone in the world, and had al
ways had to take care of himself, and she
should remember him largely. and then said,
shall remember my friends
Il was there again sometime during that
summer, but did not stop for any length of
time. She then spoke of her will again, lust
the same as she had always spoken of it,
She spoke OF 1t many times in all the times
was there. All the change she ever made
was that she. would sometimes speak of
some other of her relatives she wanted to
give to: l do not know how long it was be-
fore l was there again after that.
l think some time in the fall
than Young, another nephew. She
thought he was left all alone and she must
give him something; that she must remem-
Der and help him, so that il he should be-
come unable to work he would have some
thing with which to take care of himself
She seemed to speak very kindly of HIM.
Mrs. Belcher continued to talk of this matter
with me during my visits there down until
the fall when she was taken sick in January,
her last sickness, that would be the fall of
1885. She continued to talk of the matter
with me at different times from 1870 down to
1888, sometimes more than once a year
should say. At one time in speaking of her
sister. Mrs. Besse, she said that she wanted
her to have the house in which she, Mrs.
Belcher, was then living. l recollect that at
one time when was there, after 1877, VIM
johnson was there and she requested him to
go and look at a store which needed some
thing done upon it. saying you may have
that some time William johnson married
one of Mrs. Belcher's neices. He lived
across the street. l heard her say at one
time that she was building store for Nate
Backu~. Nate Frank, she always called him.
l do not remember of hearing her say any,